[Skybird]

From FOCUS magazine.

Originally Posted by https://www.focus.de/gesundheit/news/umstaende-in-fabrik-unguenstig-studie-zu-corona-ausbruch-bei-toennies-uebertragung-des-virus-erfolgt-ueber-grosse-distanz_id_12241635.html

In a joint study by the Helmholtz Center (HZI), the Uni-Klinik Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) and the Heinrich Pette Institute, the origins of the first coronavirus outbreak in May 2020 were examined at the Tönnies meat factory in Rheda-Wiedenbrück.

The results reconstruct the triggering transmission events of the outbreak in the Tönnies meat factory: starting from a single employee, the virus was transmitted to several people within a radius of more than eight meters. The main transmission took place in the cutting area for cattle quarters, where the air is circulated and cooled to ten degrees Celsius. In contrast, the housing situation of the workers during the investigated phase of the outbreak did not play an important role.

In addition, an analysis of the virus sequences shows that all people from the infection cluster who tested positive for the coronavirus in May share a new combination of eight mutations that had not previously been observed.

“Our study sheds light on SARS-CoV-2 infections in a work area where various factors meet that allow transmission over relatively long distances. The important question now is under what conditions transmission events over longer distances are possible in other areas of life, ”said Melanie Brinkmann, professor at the Technical University of Braunschweig and research group leader at the HZI.

"Our results indicate that the conditions of the cutting operation - i.e. the low temperature, a low fresh air supply and constant air circulation through the air conditioning in the hall, together with strenuous physical work - the aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 particles over larger ones Funded distances, ”said Professor Adam Grundhoff, co-author of the study and research group leader at HPI.

“It is very likely that these factors generally play a crucial role in the global outbreaks in meat or fish processing plants. Under these conditions, a distance of 1.5 to 3 meters alone is obviously not sufficient to prevent transmission. "